Adventure Nomad

Thursday, April 25, 2013

How do you bulletproof your coffee? Well, the exact recipe from the person who coined the term is here. Basically, it's taking a double expresso, add an equal amount of water, add two tablespoons of unsalted butter, and/or a healthy portion of coconut oil, and then blending the concoction until you get a creamy head of foam, much like a latte.

Dave Asprey is the man behind the bulletproof diet, which is basically built on the 'Paleo' or 'Caveman' diet. On a trip to Tibet, he tried Yak Butter Tea, which is what the Tibetans and Sherpas drink in the mornings for energy. If you've never tried it, it's more like soup than tea, and is most certainly an acquired taste. Instead of putting butter in tea, he used coffee, and the taste is much more palatable.

Fresh roasted coffee has natural oils, which gives good coffee its rich flavor and texture. So the added butter (it has to be unsalted) just adds a creamy 'feel' to the coffee. Adding coconut oil does change the flavor the coffee, and it may not be to everyone's taste.

Why bulletproof your coffee? Well, Asprey says it can promote brain function, memory, and energy levels. Asprey's idea is that you have this cup of coffee for breakfast, and nothing else, which kind of trains the body to burn fat for fuel. If you can do that, Asprey says you'll lose weight, and it leaves you feeling lean, focused and energized. It's an interesting idea, and I'm attempting to move towards it... slowly. Although I've bulletproofed my morning cup of coffee (and enjoy it that way), I still eat my bacon, eggs, and a banana with it!

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Am I a photographer or videographer? I'm struggling to make the best of both, but although I have the equipment to shoot both, sometimes the moment to shoot occurs just once and I have to decide: Do I go for the still shot, or video capture?

Rarely do I get the opportunity to shoot both, and the above shot is one of those rare moments. The video capture of the shot above can be seen near the end of the video below, from 4:50 - 4:54. The pigeon flying across the screen makes the clip work in an otherwise static scene.

I think the motion capture offers a lot more than the photograph above. However, it's a lot harder to get someone to watch 5 minutes of video, versus a couple of seconds to view the photo above.

Myanmar Bike Trip from Kenneth Koh on Vimeo.In March 2013, I had the opportunity to travel with the Singapore Cycling Federation to join the Singapore National Mountain Biking team in Myanmar (Burma) as part of their preparation for the South East Asian Games later that year. This is a little video of that trip shot with the Olympus OMD EM5, Gopro HD2, and iPhone 4s.

Photos work better in the blog, plus I make some pocket money selling my photos. But as a novice filmmaker, I don't get anything out of making videos, other than the fun and the challenge. I don't want to give up one, but I'm not sure I can do both successfully.

If there's someone reading this who can offer up some pointers or techniques to shoot both video and stills, I would appreciate if you could post your advice to comments.

About me

I'm lucky enough to have lived a pretty interesting life. I've climbed Mt. Everest, ran a desert ultramarathon, ridden my bike in seldom explored corners of the earth, piloted jet planes across the skies and I'm a CrossFit Level One Trainer. I'm still out there doing 'stuff', but these days, I'm also focused on helping others achieve their goals. I train and give motivational talks, and when I have time, I'll do a bit of adventure and travel writing and photography.